Maybe it’s a good thing that freshman quarterback Nate Romine doesn’t know anything about Air Force’s football series with Note Dame.

Romine, 18, has enough on his mind just trying to get up to speed to pilot the Air Force offense with minimal on-field experience. He doesn’t need to dwell on details of horror shows that would discourage most quarterbacks.

The Falcons (1-6) and Fighting Irish (5-2) meet for the 30th time Saturday at Falcon Stadium, a series the Irish have dominated. Romine faces the monumental task of making his first collegiate start against Notre Dame, unless sophomore Karson Roberts is cleared to play again after suffering a head injury in the Falcons’ most recent game, Oct. 10 against San Diego State.

“I don’t know anything about what has happened before when we played Notre Dame, but I’m sure I’ll hear all about it this week,” Romine said. “We have to respect everyone we play, but you can’t fear them. You can’t play that way.”

Air Force, which has a six-game losing streak, will be a huge underdog against the Irish, who are coming off a 14-10 victory over visiting Southern California.

“It can’t be much different than when Air Force went into the ‘Big House’ last year and almost beat Michigan,” Romine said. “We could either throw a pity party or think that we are scholarship football players.”

Romine didn’t suit up for Air Force’s season opener, a 38-13 victory over Colgate. He picked up practice time the next week after junior quarterback Kale Pearson was lost for the season because of a knee injury. Sophomore QB Jaleel Awini made three starts before being dismissed for not meeting academy standards. Roberts came on and played two full games before he was injured while playing against San Diego State.

Coach Troy Calhoun looks for Roberts to return before the season is over, but he won’t get clearance to play again until he’s fully recovered.

About Romine, Calhoun said: “He does have a good arm. He’s one of those players who takes pride in being a football player.”

But the losses at the quarterback position have resulted in some improvising.

Pate Davis, another freshman, is getting more practice snaps and Calhoun has moved a couple of young players to quarterback to run the scout team.

Romine has noticed a change in the quarterbacks’ meeting room.

“At one time, there were three quarterbacks in the room that I looked up to — Kale, Jaleel and Karson,” Romine said. “Now there’s just Karson, Pate and me. So far this year, being a play away from playing is realistic here.”

Who’s hot: Junior tight end Troy Niklas and senior receiver T. J. Jones. Niklas, a younger brother of Austin Niklas, who played at Air Force last year, has caught five touchdown passes this season. Jones has had a reception in 34 consecutive games.

Who’s not: With starting quarterback Tommy Rees out with a neck injury, senior backup Andrew Hendrix didn’t impress in the second half against USC. He was 0–for-4 passing, and the Irish gained just 40 yards in the second half.

Key stat: The Irish have won nine consecutive games in the Brian Kelly coaching era when the outcome is decided by a touchdown or less.

FYI: Kelly’s Notre Dame teams have lost once in the last 29 games when holding the opponent to 20 points or fewer.